Murray to Moyne 2005
Saturday morning was a 'great day for it' as Echuca greeted us with bloody warm start conditions, but once out on the road, things REALLY started to warm up! A strong northerly played havoc on the western - bound legs (which is the direction of the first few hours) and the first few rider teams took it hard in the crosswind. One particular 20km stretch up to Pyramid Hill directly into the head wind and in 39oC heat put a bit of pressure on yours truly and her relay leg team - one member having to pull over for a bit of a dehydrated spew before the shift was over!
Once we hit Charlton the route turned predominately southerly so we cranked up the pace in the tailwind and zoomed into St Arnaud and then Stawell without issue. With the Grampians providing protection from the oncoming cool change that switched the wind to a strong westerly, the only dangers seemed to come from the narrow roads and passing traffic - narrowing road edges are hard to see in the pitch black!
We hit Glenthompson and onto Glenelg Highway before midnight - cooking with gas! However, the cool change was on its way and with it some significant blustery westerlies.... the direction into which we were heading. A couple of short rain showers cooled conditions but not the wind. We put everything into the final legs, and even tried to offer protection to my uncle Ken, whom we passed battling it out on the road only 20km from Hamilton. We arrived at the compulsory stop around 2am, allowing 3 hours sleep (by the time I stopped chatting to the Lions BBQ fellas) before the storm hit and the old saying about rain on a tin roof numbing your brain and any pleasantries of a good nights sleep..
Just as Melbourne was being plummaged by the storm, the skies cleared in Hamilton for an almost dry departure for Port Fairy. Again, there was little relief from the westerly wind, now coming at us from our right side and relentlessly pushing us into the gutter. We decided to show team solidarity and wait for our 2nd team consisting of Diabetes Australia - Victoria riders. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but so is being nice and helpful to tired riders. Some members of the DAV team were pretty beat from Saturday's effort, and had slowed considerably. Unfortunately, low blood sugar also took its toll on our diabetic team and one rider fell from a severe hypo, requiring a brief stop at the Moyne hospital in Port Fairy for a check over. The ride to Port Fairy took two hours longer than anticipated, but we finished with two full teams on the road and the feeling of a great sense of achievement.
As both teams fundraised to support the charity, camps for children with diabetes, we really hope to pull together a terrific amount to donate.
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